cleveland



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-.-Sheet 1. i

' E. L. CLEVELAND.

GAR TRUCK.

Patente m m U0 v (No Mbdl.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. L. CLEVELAND.

OAR TRUCK.

No; 354,594. Patented Dec. 21, 1886.

' ATENT FFECEQ ERASTUS L. CLEVELAND, OF PITTSBURG, PA., ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO MICHAEL P. HOWLEY AND SAMUEL MEIK, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 354,594, dated December 21, 1886.

Application filed July 6, 1886. Serial No. 207,240. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERAST'US L. CLEVELAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Oar-Trucks,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in object of my invention is to provide improved means for automatically shifting the angle or line of movement of the wheels of the truck in rounding curves and angles to adapt the said wheels to assume approximately the curve or angle of the track, and thereby reduce the friction and wear between the flanges of the wheels and the track-rails and adapt the truck to turn short-er curves, which is very desirable in street-railway tracks which are laid in cities where the streets are narrow and crooked.

A further object of my inyention'is to provide an improved bearing for the trunnion or axle of the car-wheel, which shall be retained or held very steadily in place and be guided in its shifting movements, so that it cannot become displaced or injured; to provide improved means for permitting the wheels and their bearings to move vertically when in motion and to cushion the same; to give an easy and resilient motion to the occupants of the car by avoiding any sudden jerks or jars, and, finally, to improve the parts in minor details, to render them very simple, strong and durable in construction, efficient and reliable in operation, and comparatively cheap and inexpensive.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a car-truck embodying my present improvements, Figure l is a top plan view, Fig.

2 is a side elevation, and Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view, thereof. Fig. 4- is a detached detail view of one of the car-wheel bearings. Fig. 5

is alike view of the yoke for connecting the car-wheel bearing, showing the supportingframe therefor, together with the means for permitting it to move vertically through the said supporting-fran1e. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view through one of the wheels to show the bearings therefor in detail and the peculiar form of the slot in the truck-frame.

Referring to the drawings, in which like 1611- ters of reference denote corresponding partsin all the figures, A designates the truck-frame of an improved car-truck embodying my present improvements. This truck-frame has a series of slots, B, formed therein, which correspond to the number of wheels that are to be mounted in thetruclr-frame-in this instance four in number. One of these wheels, 0, which are of the ordinary or any preferred pattern at present in use, is disposed in avertical positionin each of the slots B, and these wheels are adapted to be shifted from one side to the other simultaneously, to cause them to assume approximately the angle or curve of that portionof the track which it is designed to turn, as will 7 be more fully hereinafter described.

The slots B of the truck-frame are of peculiar configuration or form, which I will now describe. At the middle of the side edges of the slots are formed curved or segmental recesses I), which are in line with each other, and the sides of the slotsB on opposite ends of thesegmental recesses b are inclined diagonally from each other, as at 1) b the sides b at one end of the slot B being inclined in reverse direction to the side I) at the same end of the said slot 13. The other end of the slot B has its sides arranged in corresponding manner, whereby the slot B has enlarged ends with segmental recesses b at its middle, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 6 of the drawings. The enlarged ends of the slots with their inclined sides permit the wheel located therein to be shifted to one side or the other without hinderance from the truck-frame or contact wit-h the edges of the slot in which the wheel is located, and the segmental or curved recesses I) serve as the guides for the shifting bearings D for the wheel-axle or trunnions. loo The upper sides of the truck-frame adjacent and surrounding the segmental guide-recesses bare left smooth and plane, to furnish a proper bearing-surface for the bearings D, and the under sides of the said truck-frame surrounding the segmental guide-recesses b are provided with integral depending flanges or ledges a, whichconform in shape to the segmental form of the recesses b and furnish additional and a wide bearing-surface for the ends of the shifting bearings D. Thesebearings D are formed in a. single piece of metal, and they have openings or passages d at their centers, in which are journaled the extremities of the axle, or the trunnions thereof. The outer vertical faces or sides of these bearings are made segmental in form to correspond with the curvature of the segmental guide-recesses and the bearing-flange a thereof, so that the bearings are free to move or turn in contact with these surfaces in shifting the wheel from a straight line to an angle, in order to round or turn a curve. The bearings are further provided on their outer vertical sides with horizontal ribs or flanges d, which bear on the upper smooth surface of the truck surrounding the guide-recesses b of the slots B, and by means of these flanges d the downward movement or displacement of the bearings are prevented, and they are thereby retained in their proper relative positions. Each of the wheels of the car-truck is providedwith two of these shifting bearings, which are arranged in line with each transversely of the truck-frame and on opposite sides of the wheel and the slot B in which it is located, the bearings being free to move and turn in their gniderecesses; and to cause these bearings to move simultaneously, in order to properly shift the wheel, I employ a yoke, E, which straddles the wheel and connects the bearings thereof, so that they are both moved simultaneously. This yoke E is provided at its lower ends with right-angled orv horizontal flanges e, which bear on and are permanently and rigidly aflixed to the bearing-flanges d of the shifting bearings D by means of through-bolts and nuts, and'the said connecting-yoke E is disposed in a vertical position or line and provided at its upper end with a bearing pin or trunnion, e, by means of which it is swiveled in a vertically-disposed supporting-frame, F, and is free to turn or rotate partially in horizontal planes simultaneously with the shifting bearings by which it is actuated. This yoke is formed of a single piece of metal or a casting of suficient strength and rigidity to resist the wear and friction, and the bearing pin or trunnion of the yoke extends through the capplate of the frame F, and is rigidly and firmly affixed or secured to a stirrup, G, which lies above the frame F, and is provided at or near its ends with vertical guide pins or rods 9, which pass through suitable openings formed in the cap-plate of the supporting-frame, the lower ends of the guide-pins being provided with a nut or head, 9, and a coiled retractingspring, G, being fitted between the said nut or head and the cap-plate of the supportingframe and encircling the guide pins or rods, whereby the springs normally depress the stirrup so that it is in contact with the cap-plate; but when the car-wheel moves or plays vertically under the weight of the car-body and its contents the bearings and the yoke connecting them are moved with the wheel, and thus compress the retracting-springs G.

A wear-plate, H, is interposed between the segmental face of the guide-recess b and the similar face of the shifting bearing, so that the wear is taken up by the said plate instead of coming upon the truck-frame. This wearplate is provided with right-angled flanges h, which fit over the upper and lower sides of the truck-frame, and the wear-plate is thereby retained in its proper relative position; and when it becomes worn the plate can be easily and readily detached and a new one substituted therefor, as will be readily understood.

The supporting-frame F for the connectingyoke and for limiting the play of the stirrup and its guide'rods or pins consists, essentially, of a cap-plate, f, of suitable shape or configuration and size, and the vertically-disposed rods or standards f, which support the cap-plate very firmly and rigidly in place and are properly affixed to the truck-frame, the cap-plate being arranged over the car-wheel and the yoke for connecting the bearings thereof.

In the accompanying drawings Ihave shown a car-truck with four wheels, which I have numbered from 1 to 4, inclusive, the wheels 1 and 2 being arranged at one end and the wheels 3 and 4 atthe opposite end of the truck; and these wheels are connected for simultaneous operation by mechanism which I will now proceed to describe.

I and I designate two movable levers,which are arranged at opposite ends of the truckframe A, and constitute the draft-bars when they are used in street-railway cars. The

.whiffletrees are to be connected with these levers when the truck is used on street-cars; and the opposite ends of the levers are provided with arms i, which extend or' project outwardly therefrom at right angles, the levers being pivoted to the truck-frame at the end where the arms are formed, as at i, so that they can be moved or shifted from one side to the other of the truck.

J and J designate the longer links connecting the bearings of the wheels at each end of the truck. The inner one of each of the two bearings of each wheel is provided with a lug or arm, j,which extends inwardly of the truckframe and beyond the inner edges thereof, and the ends of the link J are pivotally connected to the arms j of the wheels 1 and 3, while the ends of the link J are connected in like man her with the arms j of the wheels 2 and 4,

these links J J being arranged at an angle to and crossing each other, as shown.

The lever I at one end of the truck is connected with the links J and J by means of cross-links K and K, which are pivotally con IIC levers I or I is shifted or moved from one side to the other out of a straight line, the longer links, .I J, and the car-wheels will be moved simultaneously by the shorter links intermediate of the said longer links and the lever I or I, and when the lever is again turned to a straight position the links J J will actuate all of the wheels simultaneously to turn them in line with the track-rails.

The operation of my invention will be readily understoodfrom the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

It will be observed that by means of my improvements all of the wheels of the truck will be shifted or turned simultaneously into the direction which the truck is to be turned or moved in rounding a curve, so that the friction and wear on the wheels and the rails will be lessened to a very material extent, and thereby increase the durability and efficiency of the apparatus and the rails.

By the use of my improvements the truck can round or turn curves which are very short or abrupt, which is very desirable, especially in cities where the streets are narrow and crooked andcurves of this class predominate.

When the improvements are applied to the cars of steam-railroads, the shifting-levers I and 1 and the links K Kare omitted and dispensed with, as the speed of the train in rounding or turning curves will be sufficientto shift one or more of the wheels, and consequently all of them simultaneously.

M designates a lubricator applied to the truck-frame and suspended therefrom beneath the aXle of each of the wheels; but this lubricator does not form a part of the present invention, and is shown and described in Letters Patent issued to me on the 7th day of April, 1885, No. 315,002.

Various slight changes in the form and proportion of parts and in the details of construction can be made without departing from the principle of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I- claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a car-truck, the truck-frame having the longitudinal slot,and the segmental guiderecesses on opposite sides of and opening into the slot at its middle, the independent shifting bearings fitted snugly in the guide recesses and capable of free movement therein, the yoke secured to and connecting the shift ing bearings for simultaneous operation, and a wheel journaled in the said bearings and turning on vertical pivots about the vertical center of the wheel,substantially as described.

2. In a car-truck, the combination of the truck-frame, the shifting bearings carried by the said truck-frame and capable of free ver 'tical'and horizontal movement thereon, a wheel journaled in the bearings and turning on vertical pivots about the vertical center of the wheel, and a yoke straddling. the wheel and secured to the shifting bearings, and thereby connecting the latter for simultaneous operation, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a car-truck, the truck -frame having the longitudinal slots provided with the diagonal sides at the ends, and the segmental guiderecesses on opposite sides of the longitudinal slot and between the diagonal sides thereof, in combination with the shifting bearings fitted snugly in the guide-recesses and capable of free vertical and horizontal movement therein, the wheel journaled in the bearings and turning on a vertical pivot about the center of the wheel, and the yoke straddling the wheel and connectingthe shifting bearings for simultaneous operation, substantially as described.

4. In a car-truck, the truck-frame having the longitudinal slot. and the segmental guiderecesses at the middle of the slot and on opposite sides thereof, in combination-withthe independent bearings fitted snugly in the guiderecesses and bearing against the sides thereof and each provided with a projecting flange at its upper side which bears upon the truckframe and thereby limits the'downward play of the bearings, a wheel journaled in the bearings and turning on a vertical pivot about the center of the wheel, and the yoke straddling the wheel and connected to the independent bearings, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a truck having a slot and the segmental guide-recesses arranged in line with each other, the shifting bearings fitted snugly in the recesses for supporting and carrying the wheel, and the swiveled yoke connecting the bearings, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of a truck-frame, the shifting bearings, the wheel having its axle j ournaled in the'bearings', and turning on vertical pivots about the vertical center of the wheel, the vertically-disposed yoke connectin g the bearings and straddling the wheel, the stirrup connected to the yoke and having the guide-pins, the frame carrying the cap, and the springs, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the truck-frame having the slots and the segmental guide-recesses, the bearings fitted snugly in the said recesses, the yoke connecting the bearings and having the pin or trunnion, the frame secured to the truck-frame and provided with a cap through which the pin of the yoke passes, the stirrup connected to the pin of the yoke and carrying the guide pins or rods which pass through the cap of the frame, and the springs encircling the guide-pins for normally depressing the stirrup, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the truck-frame, the shifting bearings D thereon, connected for simultaneous operation and having the arms or,

vers having the arms i and the cross-links intermediate of the said levers, and the links J J, substantially as described, for the purpose 15 set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERASTUS L. CLEVELAND.

\Vitnesses:

M. E. FOWLER, W. T. GILL. 

